Can I fire my real estate agent?

We have a 6 month contract, and 2 months in, our agent is not doing a good job--she has mishandled some situations and is not knowledgeable. Do I have any recourse to break the contract and find someone else? Will I be sued if I do this?

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Answers

Hi Cathy: That depends on your written agreement with your agent. Have you signed anything? If you want to call me at my office, I'll help you figure it out. Basically it depends on how far along you are in the deal. Please call: 914-273-9688. Good luck. Sincerely, Michael F. Levy, Principal Broker, Grand Lux Realty. http://www.GrandLuxRealty.com.

In theory you can fire your agent. Look at the Listing contract you signed and see if there is any conditions to early termination. You should speak with the broker as well and express you displeasure and see if anything can be done to rectify it.

Yes... and the reason it would be done is to make the house sell.... you are probably over priced. Have you had showings? If not, its the price. Either budge on the price, or keep it where it is and the activity will remain the same.

Your agent could be at Panera Bread with the other agents asking EXACTLY the same question.
You really should have a heart to heart with your agent, be respectful and honest. You will be amazed what honest communications can accomplish.

Trolling the internet for opinions should be the resource of lowest priority. You end up with comments like Russ' below and believe them to be a valid option. This is bad, bad, guidance and injecting such actions into your environment will prove toxic for years to come. Honest, open and respectful communication...that IS the right action to take.

Usually you can fire your agent. Call the broker or their manager to have them help you get out of the contract. You can always threaten them with bad publicity and they will be glad to let you go.....if they say no at first

You can warn her that he or she is not doing a good job and the reasons for it and then see if there is any improvements and try it for another month.If your agent does not improve his or her services within the month's time then try calling the broker or manager in charge to see if you can get another agent and /or ask for permisson to cancel the contract.I am sure that they will accomodate you any way possble and would like to see you be happy with the agent your working with.

I am an experienced professional real estate agent for 13 years.I would be happy to assist you if you are no longer in a contract with the agent your with.

I suggest you call the manager of the office where you have you home listed. Companies in general want owners to be satisfied and they do not wish to have there reputationtarnished. I am sure they will try to accomadate you one way or another.

Barring any special circumstances, agents and the offices they are affiliated generally are very reasonable and want you to be satisified. If that is not possible you can usually cancel your contract and refund any advertising dollars as described in your contract.

Hi, you can fire your agent. Just read the language in your listing agreement to see if there are any clauses that may affect you. One common clause in our Westchester listing agreements is if the client terminates the agreement before expiration the agent may be able to recoup marketing dollars and/or a full commission if a meeting of the minds was brought about.

It's not uncommon for people to commit to an agent or an agency and later be disappointed with their service. Being able to site specific examples and situations may be helpful.

We recommend getting in contact with the agent's broker to express your concerns and request to be allowed out of your agreement. With specific information and a valid level of concern many brokers will be understanding of your request.

Ck your sales agreement. Most likely it has a clause that allows you out of the contract but in most cases, you may be responsible for any monies that were spent on advertising dollars for your property.

You can also call the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors and ask for Richard Haggerty on how you can proceed with cancelling your contract. The main number is 914-681-0833 and just ask to speak with him.

My suggestion would be to read the contract you signed & see what the termination clause is. Usually brokers will allow sellers to cancel their agreement regardless of what's written. If you need help understanding your agreement, give me a call & I'll be happy to explain it. Good luck. Sincerely, Michael Levy, Principal Broker, Grand Lux Realty, 914-273-9688.

Since you state you have a written agreement--have a dicussion with your agent; if the chat proves unsatisfactory contact his/her broker owner, and or office manager and express your concerns; you can ask to be unconditionally released, or ask to be assigned another agent from within. If you have no signed agreement, you are free to work with whoever you please, but be upfront with that agent regarding any properties you may have already seen, and or, wish to see again/possibly make an offer....

You will not be sued, that is unlikely. Your contract is NOT with the agent but with the company. Most sellers never totally realize this. You have contracted for 6 months to use that company to list your house for sale and you might be using a certain agent in that office. There is a boss there and the boss is called the Primary Broker, or Broker in Charge or Principal Broker, but each office has one. Your listing is with that person and that broker can assign another agent to handle your listing. The current agent will not be happy, but you can ask the broker to assign you a new agent to finish up the remainder of the contract. The broker also has the power to cancel the listing contract too.